New museum seeks donations of artefacts

The Michael Collins House Museum, housed in a restored Georgian house on Emmet Square in Clonakilty, will tell the story of Ireland’s struggle for independence from the 1798 rebellion onwards.

The Museum is looking for donations of furniture relating to the early part of the twentieth century, circa 1900 – 1910. The project team would also be appreciative of any donations of artefacts, letters and papers relating to the three main central characters of the museum — Tadgh an Asna, O’Donovan Rossa and Michael Collins.

“The former town Council of Clonakilty and Cork County Council have being acquiring artefacts and papers to be displayed at the House and have been fortunate in the donations they have received to date, most notably a collection of papers from relatives of Michael Collins,” said a council spokesperson.

Born in 1890 near Woodfield, Clonakilty, Michael Collins lived at No 7, Emmet Square with his sister Margaret, while attending the national school in Clonakilty. During this time, Collins worked as a young reporter at The West Cork People newspaper, which his sister and her husband Patrick O’Driscoll published from No 7. In 1906, Collins left Clonakilty for a job in the Post Office in London.

The house was used as a private residence up to 1981, when it was turned into offices for a solicitors firm. It was vacant until acquired by Clonakilty Town Council in 2012.

“The project will restore the house to former glory and will give the visitor a view of what the house was like in its Georgian splendour. Conservation work has being carried out very sympathetically and main body of the house has now being restored,” explained the spokesperson.

The house will also contain an audio visual room and a printing room, which will tell the history of The West Cork People newspaper.

The Michael Collins House Museum is part of the continuing redevelopment of Emmet Square, which acts as an important axis between the house and statue of Michael Collins just off the square.

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The inaugural Ballineen Foróige Young Engineers Exhibition will take place in Gort Mhuire Hall in Ballineen this Friday 23rd February. As part of Engineers Week 2018, leaders and members of Ballineen Foróige Club have organised an exhibition which will showcase a diverse and exciting range of engineering projects that have been undertaken by members of the club over the last few weeks, with the aid of leaders and a number of local engineers.

With the aid of local pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, along with the support of STEAM Education, a UCC based company focused on promoting science, technology, engineering, arts, and maths subjects in primary schools, Ballineen Foróige has been engaging members and leaders in all things engineering over the last six weeks. From researching, designing, and prototyping a project based on local problems, to participating in various workshops on coding and careers in engineering, Ballineen Foróige have been extremely busy in preparation for the exhibition this coming Friday night.

On the night itself, Michael Loftus, Head of Engineering at CIT, Fintan Goold, Manager at Eli Lilly and All-Ireland Cork winning Footballer, along with Geraldine Coughlan of GCA Architects & Designers, a local business, will act as judges on the night, evaluating the different engineering projects and offering some advice to the members of the club. Also in attendance will be the CEO of Foróige Seán Campbell, along with a number of local councillors, TD’s and Senators.

Leading the team of Ballineen Foróige leaders organising the event, is Rebecca Dwyer, a bioprocess engineer at Eli Lilly. Rebecca recently became a leader in the club and says that Ballineen Foróige Young Engineer Exhibition 2018 “promises to be a fun, challenging and rewarding experience for all involved and we look forward to welcoming parents, relatives, friends and members of the public to the exhibition and film screening on the evening of Friday 23rd February.” Overall, there are twelve projects entered in the exhibition. One project, led by Cian Kennefick and Charlie Nolan, members of the starting out club, examines the possibility of installing speed ramps on the road near local primary school. Fourteen-year-old Charlie says he got involved in the project as it was something to do and it gets you thinking. Cian says the most exciting part of the project was the building of the prototypes.

Both Cian and Charlie, along with thirty other members of the club will display their projects this coming Friday 23 February in Gort Mhuire Hall in Ballineen. Doors open at 8pm and the event runs until 10pm. All are welcome to attend, and admission is free. Catering, including tea and coffee, will be provided on the night. ... See MoreSee Less

Check out this new upbeat indie-folk track Edges, released today from Inni-K with a video by Myles O'Reilly. Inni-K will be performing at Levis’, Ballydehob on Saturday 24th February, with support from Sam Clague.

“The Viking Gold and Silver Hoards from County Cork” is the topic of the next Dúchas Clonakilty Heritage lecture on Thursday 22nd at the Parish Centre starting at 8pm.

It will be delivered by John Sheehan, senior lecturer in the Archaeology Department, UCC and a former member of the Heritage Council and the Board of the National Museum of Ireland.

The Vikings were an important presence in Ireland for over two centuries. As well as inflicting great terror they were also responsible for introducing urbanism and new economic systems to the country.

In this talk the focus will be on the economy, looking at the gold and silver hoards that were buried in Co. Cork. It will also explore how these hoards were discovered, what happened to them, and where they are now! ... See MoreSee Less

Bandon Toastmasters is a club that helps people overcome Glossophobia, a fear of public speaking. The club is holding a night of inspirational and motivational speakers on February 22 that is a must for anybody wishing to overcome this phobia. Tickets can be purchased either on the club's facebook page or through eventbrite.